1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to toothbrushes, and more particularly, to toothbrushes having spaced bristles groups on the head of the brush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of prior toothbrush constructions are well known, especially toothbrushes having different bristle arrangements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,844 discloses a toothbrush having bristles covering the entire head of the brush similar to the configuration of a "dust mop". In U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,202 there is shown a toothbrush head arrangement wherein several rows of straight bristle perpendicular to the head are surrounded by several rows of bristle arranged at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the head. Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,608 a toothbrush with a curved head section and a straight head section is shown with the bristles extending from the curved section being oriented at an angle with respect to the bristles extending from the straight section of the head.
In each of these prior art toothbrush variations, a high, substantially uniform bristle density is employed. As a result, it is difficult, in not impossible, for adequate bristle contact in the regions between two adjacent teeth inasmuch as the neighboring bristles in a high density layout exert reaction forces against the toothbrush head thereby interfering with optimal bristle/teeth engagement. The foregoing disadvantage is overcome by the unique bristle arrangement of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art designs will also be rendered evident.